We were very good in that game, should have won but **** happens. The turnaround and improvement in the last month has been dramatic. We are now entering the sort of form where we become unpredictable, the team looks to be clicking and we could potentially win any game which is a huge difference to where we were. Gutted to get nothing from that but new games coming up.
At the same time though, Chelsea, Leicester and Spurs all appear in our fixture list either side of the New Year. It's not just about using these current fixtures to get back in the hunt (which we currently have done). It's about getting ahead of the pack (which we missed out today). Everton and Villa are in the midst of a horrible looking set of fixtures, but it won't stay that way forever. We need three points from our next two matches just to go into Christmas averaging one point per game. And that's hardly something to shout about. I'm not saying that we needed to win all five of these matches (Christ, if we did that we'd be laying out our towel on survival beach), but we do need to have our heads above water. Simply putting ourselves in a position where we're no longing sinking to the sea bed is unlikely to be sufficient.
There’s always a tricky run ahead, so as long as we are in touching distance, we have a chance. If we are not clear going into that tricky run, it’s not over just a little trickier. It’s all about survival this season now. Not what we wanted at the start, but certainly what we need to be thinking.
We have also demonstrated time and again that more defenders =/= better defense for us. Our best defensive tactic is a two-goal lead.
We've had some success with "opposing team gets a player sent off for a completely random two-footed lunge", but it's a tough one to replicate.
Fair comment. But away games are different from home ones. You know the home team are gonna ramp up the pressure any which way they can. Last two away games we have crumbled under this pressure so it does make you wonder why we dont bring on an extra def / mid. Almost every other manager would. Ralph is a great manager for sure but he doesn’t seem to have the ruthlessness that would see us earn an extra 6-7 points a season.
Wow, I was getting to 50/50 us going down before the turn of form. I can see three worse teams than us now. We're just dysfunctional but have the ability that other teams around us don't to pick up points.
What else do you want RH to do? That team/formation is just about the best we have. You might want Boufal in instead of someone but there aren't many plausible options left January window is very important to give us some better options primarily in defence and defensive midfield
I completely agree and am one of his biggest supporters. I think he’s doing a sterling job under the circumstances - I’m just pointing out the lack of options and the reality of the situation he finds himself in. That’s not his fault, it’s those above him.
But we all know that we probably won't strengthen the team in January. Why should Jan be any different from the last few windows. Sure, we have signed players in the last couple of seasons but how many get a regular starting place and how many have actually strengthened the side? If you look at the starting 11 now to the one two seasons ago it would probably look very similar. I know there are exceptions but not many
It is also relevant that the results start picking up, whilst acknowledging the fixtures are now kinder, at the point when Ralph has also stopped dicking around with people in weird positions.